We are planning a trip to Fallingwater and need to be there at 8h00. Is it advisable to drive early in the morning especially if not used to driving in America. How long will it take and is early morning traffic a problem in Pittsburgh? Any advise will be appreciated.

The Falling Water site is showing 1.5 hours from downtown Pittsburgh. I'm not sure if they are factoring in traffic - probably not. If you have to be at Falling Water at 8:00 then you should leave at 6:00 for the 8:30 private tour. I'm not familiar with Pittsburgh but there should be minimal traffic at 6:00.

Will you also visit Kentuck Knob - about 15 minutes from Falling Water? It's not as great as FW but very interesting.

I live in the Pittsburgh area and wonder where you will be staying in Pittsburgh? Morning traffic will be coming in to the city so it should not be bad if you are leaving the city. I agree, you will need at least two hours to get there if you are staying in town.

I live in Pittsburgh and a word of advice: BRING A STREET MAP!
Since there are so many hills here, you will need a map in case directions are bad or you get lost.

Morning traffic won't be a problem (If you stay in the city or south of the city) because everyone is heading into downtown.

However, as cwg said, where are you staying? The drive can range from 1.5 hours to 2.5 hours depending on where your hotel is.

Oh,yes! A street map. Living here, I forget how confusing downtown can be....like having 7th Street and 6th Avenue....and they sorta meet at an intersection with Liberty.

I would suggest printing Google maps that are the scale you need. They also have 'street views' of this area. This is helpful. You have a visual of what you are looking for.

Do you need to stay in Pittsburgh? There are accomodations closer to Fallingwater. Some sound wonderful. We also stayed in Pittsburgh because we wanted to see the city but if your interested in staying closer the night before, check out: http://www.discoverourtown.com/PA/Co...dging-995.html

As cd stated, you could stay closer, such as Nemacolin Woodlands for example. However, most lodging down by Ohiopyle/Fallingwater is farther south than those two places, so it is a longer drive back to Pittsburgh or the PA Turnpike.

Thank you for all the good advise. We are planning to stay at the Springhill Suites North Shore. Any comments on accesibilty to the freeways?

I assume you will be taking I-376 out of Pittsburgh? If so, here are directions to I-376 East.

From the SpringHill Suites, head south on Federal Street toward the Roberto Clemente Bridge across the River.
After you are across the bridge, turn right onto Ft. Duquesne Blvd.

Stay to the right, and take the ramp up and follow signs for I-376 East.

Sorry. I made a mistake. there isn't a ramp connecting Ft. Duquesne Blvd. with I-376.

Here is another (and now correct) way:

From the SpringHill Suites:

1. Head south on Federal Street towards the Roberto Clemente Bridge (which crosses the Allegheny River).

2. After crossing the bridge, turn right onto Fort Duquesne Boulevard.

3. Proceed 1 block, and turn left onto Stanwix Street.

4. Follow Stanwix Street past five streets, and at the sixth street (the Boulevard of the Allies), turn left.

5. Follow the Blvd. of the Allies past five streets, and turn right onto the entrance ramp to I-376 East.

I will also be traveling through Pittsburgh and plan on visiting Falling Water on our way back to VA. We're staying at the Hampton Inn in the Strip; I read that the area is trendy with a lot of neat places to eat. Plus, there is parking at the hotel. We are going to tour Falling Water around 10 or 10:30. We will be getting a street map from AAA as well.

Tumi: I've been able to change tickets for a little later. It might be worth trying.